Damian Thompson is Editor of Telegraph Blogs and a columnist for the Daily Telegraph. He was once described by The Church Times as a "blood-crazed ferret". He is on Twitter as HolySmoke. His latest book is The Fix: How addiction is taking over your world. He also writes about classical music for The Spectator.

Meet the Magic Circle candidate for Westminster

So the news is out: Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff is the Magic Circle candidate to succeed Cormac Murphy-O'Connor at Westminster. The Cardinal wants him to get the job; so does the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz, an honorary member of the Magic Circle.

I've thought for a long time that Archbishop Smith is the establishment's man. He's sound on bioethical issues, though he had a run-in with the Vatican a few years ago thanks to his reluctance to remove an imprimatur on a textbook that questioned Christ's resurrection.

So far as I can discover, he has not the slightest interest in the liturgical renewal set in motion by Pope Benedict. I bet he didn't support Ratzinger for Pope, either, but then none of the bishops did.